Driver extracted from smashed vehicle and hospitalized

See why bystanders say why this car banged along, hitting five objects, a pedestrian and truck along three blocks of SE Division Street on a sunny afternoon. Surprisingly, there were no fatalities …

Portland Police officers look at guy wires snapped off utility poles, when a car drove on the sidewalk alongside SE Division Street.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton
A wreck in the Powellhurst-Gilbert Neighborhood left three vehicles damaged, and sent two people to the hospital, about 4:15 p.m. on September 18.

The incident began when the driver of a blue Honda sedan traveling east on SE Division street smacked into the back of a pickup truck at SE 119^th Avenue.

But, the Honda didn’t stop there.

The errant car heads east, on the sidewalk, headed for SE 122^nd Avenue.

“The car popped up over the curb and drove like crazy down the sidewalk toward 122^nd, and I dove into the bushes,” said Luke Frost, who said he’d just picked up a meal at the Burger King. “I wasn’t hurt, but I’m still shaking.”

Deep tire tracks were clearly visible in the grass along the sidewalk, where the car grazed a tree and snapped guy wires on utility poles as it headed eastward at a high rate of speed.

Tire tracks show how close the Honda came from hitting this tree.

“The car struck a pedestrian, injuring his toes,” Portland Police Bureau Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson told East Portland News.

Moving on with a great deal of momentum, the Honda flattened a metal pole holding a pedestrian signal.

This is the pedestrian signal, run over by the speeding vehicle.

“I was driving southbound on SE 122nd Avenue,” driver of a white Ford Bronco told East Portland News. “I had a green light and didn’t see anything wrong.”

From his point of view, he said he saw vehicles, lined up at the red traffic signal along SE 122nd Avenue, waiting to head eastbound on SE Division Street when the light turned green.

“The car shot in front of me when I was part way through the intersection,” the shaken driver said. “There was no time to turn, or stop.”

The driver says the Honda ricocheted off the front corner of his Ford Bronco after driving off the sidewalk and into the street.

Another witness said the driver of the car claimed she was having a medical emergency, involving chest pain at the time of the accident.

“After colliding with the Bronco, the Honda finally came to rest along the east curb line, facing north, on SE 122^nd Avenue,” Simpson said. “The driver had to be cut out of the vehicle. She was taken to the hospital.”

Minutes before this picture was taken, Portland Fire & Rescue Truck 7’s crew used their Holmatro Rescue Tools to cut open the mangled car, and rescue the driver.

In total, the Honda had struck five objects before being hit broadside by the Bronco.

Both the driver and the pedestrian’s toes are expected to recover. “People on-scene thought the driver of the Honda was suffering from a medical issue at the time of the crash,” added Simpson. “The Traffic Division is continuing its investigation.”

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